Ellie Robson - AS Media
Evaluation activity six
What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Evaluation activity two
How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Here is a short video (3 minutes 10) outlining how we represented the social groups of caucasian English teenagers (male and female).
Evaluation activity one
In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media?
The title of the film:
The film title of our media product features the name of the female love interest of the movie. This is a little ironic as the film follows the character of Brody- the male protagonist- and his life before and after the sudden tragic death of Luna. The use of the female love interest in the title is similar to (500) Days of Summer's title. Summer is the female love interest of Tom and the movie follows his point of view also. '(500) Days of Summer' was a major inspiration for the development and production of our final piece.
Setting/location:
The movie takes place in a seaside town. The seaside offers many romantic opportunities such as long walks on the beach, skipping stones or watching the sunset- if a bit cliche. These activities could be seen to tie in with the genre of a Romantic-Drama like 'Luna'. The seaside location has been used countless amounts of times before in Romantic movies- more recently, in Richard Ayoade's 'Submarine'. 'Submarine' was also incidentally an inspiration for our final media product. The setting changes throughout the sequence to implicate that the relationship lasted a long time- throughout all four seasons. Due to this, our film challenges the forms and conventions as most Romantic-Drama movies take place during one or two seasons and rarely all four.
Costumes and props
In our movie, we relied mostly on the way that the characters dressed to suggest their personality traits. For example, we purposely dressed Brody in smart clothes to hint at the character being rather intellectual. Upon viewing, many people believed that Brody was a writer due to the way he speaks in the voice over, the way he looks and this further incorporates with the typewriter font used in our final product. We also used books as props to give the movie an even more 'indie' feel. Luna and Brody are suggested to the viewer as well-brought up, middle class intelligent teenagers by the way that they look and act. We changed our clothing depending on the setting of the shot. For example, in slide 4 (far left middle), we were cosy indoors so we decided to clothe the cast appropriately in onesies. The use of this could further imply a time change to the rest of the opening sequence. By wearing this allocated attire, it can suggest that the time of the scene is during the winter season. Winter has been used before in romantic comedy movies a countless amount of times- such as, 'Submarine', 'Love Actually' and 'The Holiday'. We do however challenge this form by dressing appropriately for the different seasons. In Slide 3's scene, the cast dress lightly which suggests that the particular scene is meant to be set in the Summer- despite being filmed in November Winter.
Camerawork and editing
Our camerawork is rather dramatic and captivating. The first and seventh panels show a wide shot. We decided to use these to create a certain emphasis or importance on the events taking place. Slide 1 displays Brody looking particular solemn but emotional as he gazes on the sea in a reflective manner. This scene takes place after Luna's death and has great significance within the plot as the chronological order of the opening sequence is muddled and the scene in particular is repeated later after Luna's death and where it should be chronologically. This reflective scene is similar to the opening sequence of '(500) Days of Summer' where the two main characters are together after they have separated. This method isn't generic of the genre but it supports the forms and conventions when compared with "(500 Days)…". The use of "Day 1" in the seventh panel is also similar to the days method used in '(500) Days of Summer'. However, the days recur throughout the entire movie whereas in our final piece, this method of reassuring the audience of the chronology is only used in this particular instance. We decided to change the framing of some of the shots to differentiate the 'montage' scenes from the other shots- the coffee shop and reflective beach scenes. We included typewriter typography to further insinuate the idea of Brody being an intellectual teenager and even an avid writer. The editing is fast paced in the montage shots but slow in the other two scenes to intensify the significance of the situations in question. These two differences in pace are used incredibly regularly in movies to make sure that the viewer knows what shots or scenes are particularly significant opposed to some others.
Title font and style
The title font and style is rather bold and in a typewriter font (Prestige Elite Std.) which is used to insinuate Brody as being a writer or of having a keen interest in literature. All the typography used is lower case except for the "Day 1" heading. The use of lower case is seen to be "indie" or "hipster" in some subdivisions.
Story and how the opening sets it up
The opening of the movie is introduced in a non-chronological overview of some of the later romantic scenes of the movie. It foreshadows the death of Luna by displaying Brody looking emotional and overwhelmed. This scene is used to keep the viewer speculative about why Brody is feeling this way and what happened to him. Foreshadowing is used rather commonly in Films and TV but not particularly often in Romantic movies. However, '(500) Days of Summer' begins with the two main characters after they have separated. In this case, genres and conventions have been retained in our movie despite not being used often in our movie's genre.
Genre and how the opening suggests it
Our genre is fairly apparent in that the two characters are seen sharing a few intimate moments throughout the montage sequence. The couple are seen holding hands, reading together and playfully running in between beautifully lit water fountains. These three activities are used quite often in movies of the Romantic genre- the latter being used less often. However, fountains have been used countless amounts of times in different manners to how we used them. The opening suggests the genre by displaying these romantic activities. Our media product uses the forms and conventions that have been used previously in other movies of the same genre.
How characters are introduced
The characters in our movie are introduced in different ways. Brody is introduced in an emotional manner in the opening shot of the movie and Luna is introduced initially in the voice over at the beginning but later seen physically in the montage sequence. It is unusual for one of the main characters to be introduced in a foreshadowing scene but it has been done before- such as in '(500 Days) of Summer'. In this case, we develop the forms and conventions of the Romantic genre and make some of it's features our own.
Special effects
Being a movie of the Romantic genre, we didn't need to use many special effects to enhance the narrative of the film. However, Ellie decided to make the titles of the movie reveal themselves in a quick fashion as if they were being typed by someone using an old-fashioned typewriter. This gave the movie an even more 'indie' feel to it and benefited the production as a whole. I don't believe that this effect has been used before but the font style certainly has so therefore our movie develops the forms and conventions of movies that have used a typewriter font before like 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'.
Luna - Blooper Reel
This is the blooper reel from when we created our AS final, Luna.
Featuring Zahra Mukadam's inappropriate hand gestures and comments about wind, Dom Freedman's loud, angry director commentry and Jonathan Foulston's lack of emotion.
Audience Questionnaires - Luna
Here is an answered questionnaire regarding our opening sequence Luna:
1. Is it clear what the genre is?
- Yes; romance? Romantic drama?
2. Is the sound appropriate/does it fit with the genre/content?
- The music is lighthearted and catchy and sounds 'young' like the couple.
3. Does the opening scene create enigma?
- I want to know how they got together completely, and I want to know why he looks so sad at the beginning & why is he on his own if the relationship is so good?
4. Can you understand what is happening?
- The rewind was going back to when they first met, the beginning of the relationship in the montage.
5. Do the titles fit with the genre/content? Are they well made/edited?
- Yes, he seems to be the writer telling the story through a typewriter. They are well made and edited. They are clear.
6. Is the editing well done and clear? How would you improve it?
- Up until the end the editing was very good but I wouldn't stop the music dead at the end.
7. Is the misé en scene good and appropriate?
- I liked the day sections and night sections and the different locations. Obviously a lot of thought was put into this. It shows that the couple travelled together, e.g. to London
8. Is the opening scene convincing?
- Yes, it seems like a real film. The acting was very good, for example at the beginning the male didn't even NEARLY smile!
9. Did it interest you? Would you watch the movie?
- Yes, I want to find out what happened to Luna! Why is he on his own? How long were they together?
10. Please state what you would give it out of 60?
- 52, due to the one overly grainy/fuzzy shot and the fact that the music cuts out at the end.
1. Is it clear what the genre is?
- Yes; romance? Romantic drama?
2. Is the sound appropriate/does it fit with the genre/content?
- The music is lighthearted and catchy and sounds 'young' like the couple.
3. Does the opening scene create enigma?
- I want to know how they got together completely, and I want to know why he looks so sad at the beginning & why is he on his own if the relationship is so good?
4. Can you understand what is happening?
- The rewind was going back to when they first met, the beginning of the relationship in the montage.
5. Do the titles fit with the genre/content? Are they well made/edited?
- Yes, he seems to be the writer telling the story through a typewriter. They are well made and edited. They are clear.
6. Is the editing well done and clear? How would you improve it?
- Up until the end the editing was very good but I wouldn't stop the music dead at the end.
7. Is the misé en scene good and appropriate?
- I liked the day sections and night sections and the different locations. Obviously a lot of thought was put into this. It shows that the couple travelled together, e.g. to London
8. Is the opening scene convincing?
- Yes, it seems like a real film. The acting was very good, for example at the beginning the male didn't even NEARLY smile!
9. Did it interest you? Would you watch the movie?
- Yes, I want to find out what happened to Luna! Why is he on his own? How long were they together?
10. Please state what you would give it out of 60?
- 52, due to the one overly grainy/fuzzy shot and the fact that the music cuts out at the end.
Luna - final cut
This is the final cut for our project 'Luna', starring Jonathan Foulston and Ellie Robson, filmed by Dominic Freedman and Zahra Mukadam and edited by all of the above. The film is from the point of view of Brody, who falls in love with a girl called Luna. The opening sequence shows a flashback of Brody and Luna's relationship - the flashback then rewinds to the first day they met. The rest of the film would show the progression of their relationship until the day things take a turn for the worst.
Questionnaires for viewers - Luna
1. Is it clear what the genre is?
2. Is the sound appropriate/does it fit with the genre/content?
3. Does the opening scene create enigma?
4. Can you understand what is happening?
5. Do the titles fit with the genre/content? Are they well-made and edited? Are they clear? Are they in a good order?
6. Is the editing well done and clear? How would you improve it?
7. Is the misé en scene good/appropriate?
8. Is the opening scene convincing?
9. Did it interest you? Would you watch the movie?
10. Please state what you would give the opening scene out of 60.
2. Is the sound appropriate/does it fit with the genre/content?
3. Does the opening scene create enigma?
4. Can you understand what is happening?
5. Do the titles fit with the genre/content? Are they well-made and edited? Are they clear? Are they in a good order?
6. Is the editing well done and clear? How would you improve it?
7. Is the misé en scene good/appropriate?
8. Is the opening scene convincing?
9. Did it interest you? Would you watch the movie?
10. Please state what you would give the opening scene out of 60.
Re-edit planning - Luna
We plan to improve upon our rough cut for Luna in order to make it the best it can be. To do this we will:
- Make the titles stand out (a lot of work will go into this; each title will be 'typed' by a typewriter and will be in a different place depending on shots)
- Cut the shots of the montage crisply in time with the music
- We will add the final shots of how the couple met (in a coffee shop) at the end of the rewind and after the title in order to explain the rewind and also so that the title is not at the end, hopefully making it look less like a trailer
- By cutting the shots of the montage down, hopefully we'll be a little closer to 2 minutes and also we can cut the confusing black section out of the middle of the video
- We will audio gain the voice-over to make it louder than the music and easier to understand
Rough Cut Feedback - Luna
We have
received lots of feedback on the rough cut version of our opening sequence –
mainly positive:
Is it obvious an opening sequence? Is it
clear who the target audience is?
Many people
have said that the genre of ‘Luna’ is quite clear as well as the target
audience. However, some people have mentioned that it looks like a music video
or trailer which is not what we were hoping for.
Titles go with genre. Is the genre obvious?
Are they clear? Are there enough and are they in the right order?
Feedback on
the titles was overall positive saying that the titles were clear, relevant, in
a good order and went with the genre. The only criticisms were that the titles
were too simple and there were not a lot of and one person didn’t understand
how the typewriter style font went with the romantic drama genre.
Think about the sound and images – are they
appropriate? Do they go together?
Many people
were impressed with the sound and said it was appropriate, the music is good
and shows the genre. Some people said that the voiceover in the beginning was
good, effective and created a mood to the sequence. However some said that they
thought it was too quiet and the music drowned the voiceover out. A lot of the
feedback said that they didn’t like the reverse sound in the sequence.
Camera – are the shots appropriate and
relevant? Is there controlled use of camera, attention to framing, variety of
shot distance/angle? Close attention to use of mise en scene?
We were said
to have good use and variety of camera shots and clever camera techniques and
the audience liked that when both characters in the sequence were alone the
setting was dark but when they were together it was light (which was not
intentional) and that we have good mise en scene including costume. Someone suggested
the use of a high angle shot.
Editing so that the meaning is apparent to
the viewer and making selective and appropriate use of shot transitions and
other effects?
Lots of the
feedback was positive regarding the editing, saying that it was good and
relevant and our opening had smooth transitions. However, a lot of people
mentioned that they did not get the idea of the rewind part of our sequence (as
we hadn’t filmed our finishing shot yet) and said that because it blacked out
before the rewind the scenes stopped flowing.
Total score and any other comments
Lowest
score: 36
Highest
score: 58
It has been
said to be convincing that the couple in our opening sequence are truly in love
due to their ‘brilliant acting’; ‘cute’; ‘voiceover is effective’; people were
confused about the link to the title; ‘needs more enigma codes’; some were
unsure about the rewind; it has been cited as one of the favourites out of all
of the opening sequences.
Production Shots
This photo
shows our group working out the responsibilities of the other members and
figuring out which pitch we would choose to film for our opening sequence.
This photo shows
Dom and Jonathan working on the computers. One is researching narrative
voice-overs in popular movies whilst the other is searching for a useful
soundtrack for the opening sequence.
In this shot
we can see Jonathan looking for useful locations to film our opening sequence
in.
This photo
shows Jonathan and Zahra working out a shot list for our opening sequence and a
script for our narration.
This shot
shows Dom working on the safety assessment for the filming of the opening sequence
and Ellie working on the various mood boards for our pitch and the titles
research needed.
Jonathan is
seen here editing the footage we have so far of our opening sequence.
Ellie editing the Audience Interviews we
recorded for our films evidence to place on our blogs.
Here, Zahra
is recording Jonathan whilst he is acting in our ‘character profiles’ filming
practice.
This shot
shows Zahra and Dom working on the storyboard and the timeline for the film.
Audience Interview - Luna
We had to answer several audience questions in interview form to give an insight to who we are aiming our audience at and also to have experience in using/editing a green screen. The questions were:
1. How do media industries target audiences?
2. Who is the audience of a romantic comedy?
3. What do audiences consume?
4. Feedback from 'audience' on their favourite romantic comedy
Props
The props we will use in our opening sequence are as follows:
- Books. There are several scenes which involve the characters reading books. These are staple icons in the movie as our characters are being portrayed as intellectual and avid readers. The books we will use are those such as The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, Lolita, 1984, Pride and Prejudice etc.
- Gaming console. The most easily accessible games console is the Xbox 360 so this will be included in the montage during the scene where the two protagonists are playing video games.
- Television. During the montage there is a scene where the two protagonists are watching a scary movie whilst huddled under a duvet. A TV has to be present in this scene.
- Sofa. There are several scenes in the montage where the two protagonists are together on the sofa.
- Bed. There is one scene in the montage where the characters are sitting facing each other on a bed.
Titles Research
The following is the typical order for opening credits in the beginning of a movie:
Name of the studio
- Name of the studio that is distributing the film and may or may not have produced it (Walt Disney Pictures, Columbia, Lions Gate, Universal, Marvel Studios, Dimension, Miramax etc.). Ours will show Fox Searchlight.
- Name of production company
- Name of the production company that actually made the film or name of the investment groups or companies that financed a substantial part of the film (usually credited as "in association with" or "A (studio name) production."). Ours will say An Iridescent Innovations production in association with Cool Cat Studios and Phoenix Rising Studios, with Forbidden Fruit Entertainment.
- Director's first credit
- A film by (director's name). Ours will say A film by Dominic Freedman.
- Principal actors
- Showing the principal actors in a list or with a single credit each, either in order of importance, order of appearance or alphabetical order. Our movie will say Jonathan Foulston and Ellie Robson, each with a single credit.
- Film's title
- Name of the film. Ours will not go in the sequence this early on but rather at the end of the opening scene. Luna.
- Featuring
- Featured/supporting actors. As we have no supporting actors there will not be a section for these in our opening sequence.
- Casting
- Casting director. This will say Casting, Casting Director or Casting By. Casting by Zahra Mukadam.
- MUSIC or MUSIC COMPOSED BY or ORIGINAL SCORE BY
- Composer of music. This will say Music; Music Composed By; Original Score By; Musical Director. Our opening credits will say Musical Director, Jonathan Foulston.
- Production Design
- Production design or production designer. Whilst she never actually participated in the opening scene, this credit will say Production Design: Lauren Hunt as we are aiming to not repeat each of our names.
- SET DESIGN
- COSTUMES or COSTUMES BY or GOWNS (older movies)
- HAIRDRESSER
- MAKE-UP ARTIST
- SOUND RECORDING (older movies)
- VISUAL EFFECTS DIRECTOR or VISUAL EFFECTS BY
- Editor or edited by
- The editor of the movie. Ours will say Edited by Jonathan Foulston, although we will all participate in the editing.
- Director of photography
- Director of photography - Director of photography, Zahra Mukadam.
- Producer
- Producers, co-producers, executive producers, 'also produced by'. Often, though, the name of the producer will be the next-to-last opening credit, just before the director's name is shown. Executive producer, Ellie Robson.
- Based on the book/play/graphic novel by...
- If based on a book or other literary work. Ours isn't based on other literary work so we will skip this title.
- Based on the characters by/based on the characters created by...
- If based on characters from a book or other media. We have been inspired by the characters from (500) Days of Summer and Perks of Being a Wallflower so our credit will say Based on the characters created by Scott Neustadter.
- Story
- Person who wrote the story on which the script is based, gets "story by" credit, and the first screenplay credit, unless the script made substantial changes to the story. Ours will say Story by Ellie Robson.
- Writer(s)
- The screenplay writers. Ours will say Written by Ellie Robson and Jonathan Foulston.
- Director or Directed By
- The director is the final credit in the opening sequence. This will say Directed by Dominic Freedman.
Genre Codes and Conventions and Audience
Our planned opening is a compilation of many different romantic shots in the form of a montage. It will all be handheld footage to look considerably more personal than static shots.
These typical Rom-Com conventions will occur during the opening scene:
A typical ‘Boy meets Girl’ scenario.
Often starts with a voiceover explaining characters.
Two protagonists, normally male and female.
A chance encounter.
However, as opposed to the movie being centred around a female protagonist, the main character will be a male. The movie will be aimed at the female gender predominantly however it can be aimed at the male audience too due to the relation with the main character. The age of the preferred audience will be of 15 years of age and up.
Examples of Romantic Comedy conventions:
We were inspired by the movies '(500) Days of Summer', 'Submarine', 'About Time' and 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'. We were also inspired by my friends' student film 'Bottlebank' which includes a montage scene too.
Not officially from the movie but it shows what we are aiming to do with the aspect of cute/romantic scenes compiled together to create a montage.
The montage scene at 24:35 perfectly displays what we are intending to do with our opening sequence. A personal old-fashioned looking compilation of many romantic handheld pieces of footage.
These typical Rom-Com conventions will occur during the opening scene:
A typical ‘Boy meets Girl’ scenario.
Often starts with a voiceover explaining characters.
Two protagonists, normally male and female.
A chance encounter.
However, as opposed to the movie being centred around a female protagonist, the main character will be a male. The movie will be aimed at the female gender predominantly however it can be aimed at the male audience too due to the relation with the main character. The age of the preferred audience will be of 15 years of age and up.
Examples of Romantic Comedy conventions:
We were inspired by the movies '(500) Days of Summer', 'Submarine', 'About Time' and 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'. We were also inspired by my friends' student film 'Bottlebank' which includes a montage scene too.
Not officially from the movie but it shows what we are aiming to do with the aspect of cute/romantic scenes compiled together to create a montage.
The montage scene at 24:35 perfectly displays what we are intending to do with our opening sequence. A personal old-fashioned looking compilation of many romantic handheld pieces of footage.
Location and Recce Shots
Adventure Island theme park will be displayed in a selection of our final shots. The two main characters will be seen having fun on rides and running around the facility.
Electric Avenue and all of the other arcades down the beach of Southend will be shown in some of our shots. The two main characters will be seen playing arcade games and laughing together.
Either Starbucks Coffee or Costa will be used to create our final shot of the opening sequence. It will feature the meeting by chance of the two characters.
A few shots will take place on the Southend beach at sunset. This will increase the intensity of the romantic relationship for the audience.
Shot list
Here is a list of the shots on the storyboard for our opening scene:
1. Wide shot of the beach. Jonathan on left hand side facing away from camera towards ocean.
2. Wide shot of the beach. Shot fades evenly into Jonathan and Ellie on left hand side facing away from camera towards ocean.
3. Medium shot of Jonathan and Ellie sitting on the beach. 3 seconds.
4. Medium over-the-shoulder shot of Jonathan and Ellie sitting on the beach. 3 seconds.
5. Beginning of montage. Long shot of Jonathan and Ellie walking on the beach. 4-5 seconds.
6. Medium shot of Jonathan and Ellie sitting playing video games. 4-5 seconds.
7. Dutch shot of Jonathan and Ellie facing each other on bed. 7-8 seconds.
8. Middle shot of Jonathan and Ellie on sofa studying/reading together. 3-5 seconds.
9. Middle shot of Jonathan and Ellie watching a scary movie on the sofa. 5-6 seconds.
10. Over-the-shoulder middle long shot of Jonathan and Ellie skimming stones on beach at night. 10 seconds.
11. Rewind entire montage. 4 seconds.
12. Wide shot of coffee shop. Jonathan on one side of the room, Ellie at a table on another. Music stops. Silence before he walks towards her. 6 seconds.
1. Wide shot of the beach. Jonathan on left hand side facing away from camera towards ocean.
2. Wide shot of the beach. Shot fades evenly into Jonathan and Ellie on left hand side facing away from camera towards ocean.
3. Medium shot of Jonathan and Ellie sitting on the beach. 3 seconds.
4. Medium over-the-shoulder shot of Jonathan and Ellie sitting on the beach. 3 seconds.
5. Beginning of montage. Long shot of Jonathan and Ellie walking on the beach. 4-5 seconds.
6. Medium shot of Jonathan and Ellie sitting playing video games. 4-5 seconds.
7. Dutch shot of Jonathan and Ellie facing each other on bed. 7-8 seconds.
8. Middle shot of Jonathan and Ellie on sofa studying/reading together. 3-5 seconds.
9. Middle shot of Jonathan and Ellie watching a scary movie on the sofa. 5-6 seconds.
10. Over-the-shoulder middle long shot of Jonathan and Ellie skimming stones on beach at night. 10 seconds.
11. Rewind entire montage. 4 seconds.
12. Wide shot of coffee shop. Jonathan on one side of the room, Ellie at a table on another. Music stops. Silence before he walks towards her. 6 seconds.
Production Diary
Meeting 1: We discussed each of our film pitches and evaluated the pros and cons of each. The four genres we discussed were: romantic comedy, horror, horror comedy and teen drama. Each had positives and negatives but in the end there was a draw between the romantic comedy and the teen drama. Both had very similar plots and storylines so we merged the two and came out with a romantic comedy.
Meeting 2: Jonathan completed the task of evidence of how the opening fits with genre codes/conventions and audience; Dom and Zahra together worked on the storyboard for the opening; I completed several moodboards for similar films, typography and costume.
Meeting 3: Jonathan and I wrote the narrative for the voice-over that Dom will be reading over the opening scene whilst Dom and Zahra continued with the storyboard.
Meeting 4: Jonathan and I completed the narrative for the voice-over; Dom and Zahra completed the storyboard and worked on the timeline for the opening scene.
Meeting 5: We discussed the different things we needed to complete before shooting next week, issues that we may have with continuity (weather; it will be hard to travel to Southend several times etc.) and continued work on the task list. Jonathan found photos of the locations we will shoot in (Southend-on-Sea beach, Adventure Island theme park, Southend arcades and a coffee shop e.g. Costa or Starbucks). Dom and Zahra touched up the storyboard to make it absolutely accurate. I wrote out a list of all of the shots.
Meeting 6: I filmed the storyboards and Dom uploaded them onto Adobe Premiere. He then recorded a voice-over explaining each of the shots which fit with the storyboard video. Jonathan finished his location and recce shots and Zahra helped finish the storyboard.
Meeting 7: Dom recorded two versions of his narrator voice-over, one in a happy tone and one in a sadder tone. We then voted for which we thought was the best-suited for the opening sequence and decided that instead of a romantic comedy we are veering towards a romantic drama, choosing the sad voice-over in order to fully portray the feelings of the character Brody (Jonathan's character).
Meeting 8: We were given several questions to answer about box office and the audience of our movie and we set up the green screen to film. We each answered one question, with Dom posing as an audience member and answering a question about his favourite romantic comedies, and Miss Brookes filmed for us.
Meeting 9: As Miss Brookes had accidentally taken photos instead of filming our 'interview', we had to re-film with the green screen using Mr Amato as the cameraman.
Meeting 10: We edited the 'interview', cutting out over 20 minutes of extra blooper footage. We experimented with different backgrounds for the green screen and different effects that Premiere had to offer.
Meeting 11: We finished editing the audience interview, using a background which blended in with the parts of the classroom wall we hadn't covered with the green screen, overall creating a realistic effect.
Meeting 12: We wrote lists of things we needed e.g. props and costumes. Dom completed the risk assessment for each location we would film at.
Meeting 13: Dom completed a shooting schedule for the following days' filming. Jonathan checked out the camera and tripod so that we were able to film the day after.
Meeting 14: We all went to Dom's house after school in order to complete the first few shots of filming: a video gaming scene, watching a scary movie, studying together and relaxing at 'Brody''s house.
Meeting 15: We uploaded the footage from the night before and added them all onto Adobe Premiere.
Meeting 16: We edited the footage we had together and tried to find some music that would fit with the tone of the montage.
Meeting 17: On Saturday 30th November we met at the train station and took the train to Southend Victoria. We walked down the high street and discussed which of the four coffee shops we'd like to use for the end of the montage and also which shops we could visit to film in. We went to the arcades first as the tide was out and filmed in those. Then we went onto the beach and filmed until it was dark. The only shot that we did not get was the coffee shop shot.
Meeting 18: We uploaded all of our footage onto Adobe Premiere and deleted those which we didn't think were good enough for the montage. Altogether the footage came to over four minutes so we chopped them down.
Meeting 19: We continued to edit our footage, exploring Premiere for effects we could use, including creating a big border to give a sort of old-time indie film effect. We also dimmed the opacity on the beginning shots to made them look sadder, and added sad piano music to set the atmosphere.
Meeting 20: Editing continued. We chose the music for the montage, a happy-go-lucky indie acoustic song. We started attempting to cut the montage to the beats of the music, cutting the entire time of the opening scene down to just over 2 minutes.
Meeting 2: Jonathan completed the task of evidence of how the opening fits with genre codes/conventions and audience; Dom and Zahra together worked on the storyboard for the opening; I completed several moodboards for similar films, typography and costume.
Meeting 3: Jonathan and I wrote the narrative for the voice-over that Dom will be reading over the opening scene whilst Dom and Zahra continued with the storyboard.
Meeting 4: Jonathan and I completed the narrative for the voice-over; Dom and Zahra completed the storyboard and worked on the timeline for the opening scene.
Meeting 5: We discussed the different things we needed to complete before shooting next week, issues that we may have with continuity (weather; it will be hard to travel to Southend several times etc.) and continued work on the task list. Jonathan found photos of the locations we will shoot in (Southend-on-Sea beach, Adventure Island theme park, Southend arcades and a coffee shop e.g. Costa or Starbucks). Dom and Zahra touched up the storyboard to make it absolutely accurate. I wrote out a list of all of the shots.
Meeting 6: I filmed the storyboards and Dom uploaded them onto Adobe Premiere. He then recorded a voice-over explaining each of the shots which fit with the storyboard video. Jonathan finished his location and recce shots and Zahra helped finish the storyboard.
Meeting 7: Dom recorded two versions of his narrator voice-over, one in a happy tone and one in a sadder tone. We then voted for which we thought was the best-suited for the opening sequence and decided that instead of a romantic comedy we are veering towards a romantic drama, choosing the sad voice-over in order to fully portray the feelings of the character Brody (Jonathan's character).
Meeting 8: We were given several questions to answer about box office and the audience of our movie and we set up the green screen to film. We each answered one question, with Dom posing as an audience member and answering a question about his favourite romantic comedies, and Miss Brookes filmed for us.
Meeting 9: As Miss Brookes had accidentally taken photos instead of filming our 'interview', we had to re-film with the green screen using Mr Amato as the cameraman.
Meeting 10: We edited the 'interview', cutting out over 20 minutes of extra blooper footage. We experimented with different backgrounds for the green screen and different effects that Premiere had to offer.
Meeting 11: We finished editing the audience interview, using a background which blended in with the parts of the classroom wall we hadn't covered with the green screen, overall creating a realistic effect.
Meeting 12: We wrote lists of things we needed e.g. props and costumes. Dom completed the risk assessment for each location we would film at.
Meeting 13: Dom completed a shooting schedule for the following days' filming. Jonathan checked out the camera and tripod so that we were able to film the day after.
Meeting 14: We all went to Dom's house after school in order to complete the first few shots of filming: a video gaming scene, watching a scary movie, studying together and relaxing at 'Brody''s house.
Meeting 15: We uploaded the footage from the night before and added them all onto Adobe Premiere.
Meeting 16: We edited the footage we had together and tried to find some music that would fit with the tone of the montage.
Meeting 17: On Saturday 30th November we met at the train station and took the train to Southend Victoria. We walked down the high street and discussed which of the four coffee shops we'd like to use for the end of the montage and also which shops we could visit to film in. We went to the arcades first as the tide was out and filmed in those. Then we went onto the beach and filmed until it was dark. The only shot that we did not get was the coffee shop shot.
Meeting 18: We uploaded all of our footage onto Adobe Premiere and deleted those which we didn't think were good enough for the montage. Altogether the footage came to over four minutes so we chopped them down.
Meeting 19: We continued to edit our footage, exploring Premiere for effects we could use, including creating a big border to give a sort of old-time indie film effect. We also dimmed the opacity on the beginning shots to made them look sadder, and added sad piano music to set the atmosphere.
Meeting 20: Editing continued. We chose the music for the montage, a happy-go-lucky indie acoustic song. We started attempting to cut the montage to the beats of the music, cutting the entire time of the opening scene down to just over 2 minutes.
Moodboard
This is the moodboard of films similar to what we are aiming for for our final piece - a short opening sequence of a film. The main films that we are aiming to be similar to are 'indie' romantic comedies such as (500) Days of Summer, Perks of Being a Wallflower, About Time, Bottlebank and Submarine. They will be similar in terms of storyline, effects and editing.
This is the moodboard of outfits that are inspiration for the costumes for our final. The female protagonist's outfits will reflect her quirky, upbeat personality - she will wear overalls, jumpers and skirts with Doc Martens. The male protagonist's outfits are inspired by old-style gentlemen's clothes - bow ties and shirts - as well as modern 'indie' fashion - patterned knitted jumpers and skinny jeans.
This is the moodboard of typography of similar films to the one we will create. The main three films that are the inspiration for typography are (500) Days of Summer, Perks of Being a Wallflower and About Time. Other films with interesting, inspirational typography are Juno and Little Miss Sunshine.
Art of the Title
A title sequence is the method by which cinematic films or television programs present their title, key production and cast members, or both, utilizing conceptual visuals and sound.
Three films featured in the A Brief History of the Art of the Title Sequence are Saturday Night Fever, Forrest Gump and A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Vertigo has a very effective title sequence. The typography of 'Vertigo' was in white and placed on top of an eye - the whole picture was tinted red. It was very bright and eye-catching, especially with the contrast of the white on top. The typography lifted to show an animation of a hypnotic spiral on the pupil of the eye, linking with the title 'vertigo' which means giddiness/dizziness.
The bright red of the picture suggests warning or danger - something bad will happen in the film. The hypnotic spiral also links with this danger. The character won't know that something bad has happened to them; they will be put under hypnosis and made to do things; or they will have a dizzy lack of knowledge of what is happening.
Fallen Angel's title sequence is black and white, showing that it is either an old film or has been put there for effect: this could suggest dark events happening. The fact that the titles have been placed on a long, empty road gives it a mysterious and alluring feel.
Fallen Angel shows a road with the titles coming up in the shape of a stop sign. Paired with the title 'Fallen Angel' it suggests that someone dies because of the road, e.g. a car crash.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Typography: a formal, old-style font. Suggests that it is set in the past. White, set against a dark background. Red, links with blood.
Visual imagery: dripping blood, shows that there will be a sinister mood behind the film. Linking with title: Sweeney Todd kills people? (Demon barber) The blood follows a system where someone gets thrown down a trapdoor and seemingly made into pies. Gives a big clue as to what the plot is about.
Sound elements: deep, moody music. Orchestra? Strings/woodwind are prominent. Typical of a horror. We hear the blood splattering: gross, even more sinister.
He said: Animating blood and its movement became the most crucial and challenging element of the sequence. We had to build special platforms within which we imitated blood movement and filmed it. And we had to give it this comical feel which worked really well. That was a dream project. We would love to work on something similar.
Brazil
Typography: only one word 'Brazil', like a neon sign. Fancy font.
Visual imagery: flying in the sky. Seemingly happy, gives a relaxed vibe, especially paired with music. Huge explosion cuts into the 'happy' feel.
Sound elements: first song 'Brazil'; very happy, calm. After explosion: typical horror music, strings.
The optical effects in Brazil have quite a timeless quality to them. I did not consciously set out to create something so lasting. It was more of a serendipitous happening.
Peer Evaluation of 'Celestial'
Another class evaluated mine and Jonathan's prelim, 'Celestial', telling us what went well and what we could do better.
What elements of this sequence did you feel were successful? Give at least 2 elements and explain why they were successful.
- The light flashing when the girl was walking down the hall
- The props that were used were good and effective
- The lighting was good and the angles were too
- Good costume
- Eerie opening, graveyard, black and white
- Corridor sequence - chilling non-diegetic sounds, edgy visual effects
Were there any aspects of the sequence which you felt were confusing/distracting/missing, etc?
- The tables - when they move it doesn't seem very realistic
- Lighting in the drama room could have been more controlled - Jonathan appears blurry, grainy
List 2 things which you feel would have improved this sequence?
None of
Peer Preliminary Task Evaluation
My three favourite preliminary tasks were:
1. Candyman
I thought this sequence was hilarious. They involved slapstick humour such as walking into a door (which had the effect of 'so bad it's good') and the whole idea of a drug deal was made comedic with the humorous puns such as 'a hefty bounty', before having a chocolate Bounty thrown across the table.
2. Fug Lyfe
The teacher's acting was very good, especially at the end when she put her headphones in and started dancing. Like candyman it involved a lot of slapstick comedy.
3. Time Out
A musical is a very hard thing to film so I thought this group did very well. There was an original use of songs and the storyline was very effective and much like a typical cheesy high school musical.
1. Candyman
I thought this sequence was hilarious. They involved slapstick humour such as walking into a door (which had the effect of 'so bad it's good') and the whole idea of a drug deal was made comedic with the humorous puns such as 'a hefty bounty', before having a chocolate Bounty thrown across the table.
2. Fug Lyfe
The teacher's acting was very good, especially at the end when she put her headphones in and started dancing. Like candyman it involved a lot of slapstick comedy.
3. Time Out
A musical is a very hard thing to film so I thought this group did very well. There was an original use of songs and the storyline was very effective and much like a typical cheesy high school musical.
Preliminary Task - "Celestial"
This is the final cut of our preliminary task. Jonathan and I worked together to create 'Celestial', a short horror film about a small girl who was violently murdered and has come back to seek revenge on her killer.
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